Another Good Man Facing Tragedy

The news brought me to tears.

Those of us familiar with Steven Curtis Chapman, his music and his family life, know what a Godly, family-oriented man he is. On his albums you will find numerous songs about his wife and children showing his love of them to be the natural extension of his love of God. His work helping Chinese orphans find a good home is well documented. He not only talks the talk but walks it out. He does not simply point his finger at others and preach, but sets an excellent example by raising three adopted daughters of his own.

He was instrumental in helping one of my friends adopt two Chinese orphans. He even autographed a guitar for my friend to auction off to raise money to help with the adoption expenses.

I have felt the pain of loss when it comes to my children. When my wife left, I lost much of the precious, fleeting time we are given with our children and I was relegated to being an every-other-weekend-dad. That was a bitter pill to swallow. I still feel the sting of it to this day when I stop and think about it. But, that can hardly compare with what our brother must be feeling right now.

I know all of the clichés: she is indeed in a better place, our children are indeed only entrusted to us for a short period of time, her family will indeed be reunited with her again one day, and God will indeed bring good out of what is by any measure tragic. And the truth is that she was blessed in her short life to know true love. She has moved from being orphaned to being in a loving home to now dwelling in the pure presence of Love.

All of those clichés and facts are absolutely true, yet we cannot escape the feeling of sadness in this tragedy.

This is one of those cases where you have to ask why such horrible things happen to such good people.

Slacking - Pictures

OK, OK ... I know I'm slacking. There is still no new blog, but I am still happy and completely enjoying this glorious spring. And, I have lots and lots of new pictures to prove it! These are mostly outdoorsy stuff from hiking, cycling and canoing around

Houma

Franklin

Covington

Ponchatoula

Grand Isle

Cameron and

The Barataria Preserve .

As always, you can view all of them here.

Todd

I Feel ... Happy ...

Something has happened that was totally unexpected. It has really thrown me off my game.

Usually I can't wait to write - to work out my angst and vent my frustrations and find some catharsis for my tortured artist soul. It is so easy to write about pain, whether physical or emotional, or write about the lessons learned in a major trial or set back. When my back, or sinuses, or stomach, or head, or joints (literally speaking) or heart (figuratively speaking) hurts, the words just come pouring out of my psyche and spill out onto the page.

Over the last few weeks I have come to face something that I simply did not see coming – the very thing that I hope for and believe for, surprises when it suddenly appears. I'm not sure what causes it. I don't know how it happens. I'm not sure how to react to it. But ...

I feel ... happy ...

The word has been unfamiliar. The concept seems foreign. Through all of my tribulations I have managed to keep my deep, abiding joy, peace, and contentment, but this ... this is different. I actually feel ... good – no major aches or pains – no major crises. I hesitate to give utterance to it for fear of 'jinxing' it. My body feels good enough that I have been able to get out and hike and jog and bicycle and paddle and generally frolic about in the gorgeous Spring weather. And of course, the very act of doing so does wonders for the emotions and state of mental health.

All in all, I am very much enjoying life – which is quite worrisome!

Why is it that I rejoice whole heartedly when others get to enter into a season of rest and enjoyment, and I feel like they deserve it? Yet when it finally happens to me, I feel unworthy and ill at ease. Obviously God still has some work to do. I am not quite a finished product yet.

Lord help me to accept the good or the bad that is thrown at me with equal zeal and good cheer. They will both come and they will both go. Each season brings with it it's own lessons, it's own pitfalls, and it's own treasures. Each is valuable and necessary. Each is to be embraced and lived to the fullest.